Narcotics Anonymous: A Self Help Group Essay

970 words - 4 pages

I attended a narcotics anonymous (NA) group. The NA group took place in Bayonne New Jersey in a room in the back of church. Having the meeting in a church is fitting considering the 12-step principles have a lot to do with spirituality, faith, and divine intervention. The session that I attended was on a Monday night from 7:30pm to approximately 9:30pm. In my opinion, the duration of the group was too long.
Nevertheless, I felt a great deal of anxiety when I entered the group. Although feeling anxious is a common trait that I experience, on the night of the NA meeting it was overwhelming. The reason why I was overwhelmed emotionally was that I was attending the meeting with a close ...view middle of the document...

That is, the members spoke about their addiction as if there was something in the head speaking to them, literally. For me to better understand their addictive experiences, I thought of something that I enjoyed doing, habitually, and then I thought of how difficult it would be withdrawing from it. I thought of me drinking coffee each morning during the week. If I did not have my coffee within certain hours in the morning, I found myself craving for it…until I got it!
In other observations, two facilitators that ran the group sat at a table facing the NA members. They shared in the duty of reading the bylaws, and then, they would introduce a guest speaker. The guest speakers spoke of their life experiences with using drugs as well as how he and she found the path to recovery. When the guest speakers finished telling the story, the floor was open for discussion. The members of the panel asked the other NA members if they would like to “share”.
When a member shared his or her story of their drug experience; when they first stopped using; how they relapsed, and the methods used in recovery, they would use foul language to express themselves. I thought that they were cursing too much...too damn much! However, I thought about one of the techniques used in interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), particularly, creating a holding environment – that is, allowing the client a sense of security, and understanding when he or she express themselves (Teyber & McClure, 2011).
Then, I had an epiphany! If these clients did not have these meetings to come to and express themselves, it is probable that they would either return to drug use, or, return to drug use coupled with committing a crime. ...

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